Bill Monroe: The Father of Bluegrass

William Smith Monroe was born on September 13, 1911. He was a mandolin player, singer, and songwwriter. He is most well known for helping to create the genre of Bluegrass music. Because of this, he is commonly referred to as the "Father of Bluegrass".

The genre takes its name from his band, the Blue Grass Boys, named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 69 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader.

For more on Bill, click this wikipedia link.